Exploitable Weaknesses by Brian Keller (best interesting books to read txt) 📕

in any way, but asking questions might certainly bring him harm. That much he knew for a fact. There were some things that one was simply better off not knowing.

*****

Cooper found Rukle and Spen before they went out on their rounds and spent the next hour or so with some much needed sparring. They took turns practicing one-on-one, while the odd man out would critique. This eventually evolved into a two-on-one bout where Cooper had to rapidly eliminate Rukle from the match so that he could devote his attention to Spen. The kid showed real potential.

It rained for most of the next two days and Cooper resisted the urge to return to the Waterfront. As much as he wished to continue his efforts to draw out the Spymaster, aspects of the reconstruction could not be ignored; specifically those relating to prioritization. Housing, the kitchen and the forge were already well under way but Utsef had taught him to get ahead of requirements before they became unsatisfied needs. He spoke with Dailen, “We’ve got the basic layout for the vault and ‘bank’ that goes around it completed. We’ll need to start putting more workers on that. As we gain more attention, we’ll need to make sure our treasury is securely locked away. Leaving it buried in the corner over there isn’t the best solution. We’ll also need to build an office   somewhere to the south. Some place for Mister Ysel to have an “official” workplace. This might even need to take priority over the vault, simply because it should be comparatively quick to build. I’ll leave that up to you. Once complete, Mister Ysel can decorate his own office.” Dailen looked around the immediate area and replied, “That should be easy enough, but we have only so many workers.” Cooper nodded, “We have housing enough for our immediate needs. Shift one crew to the office and one to the vault. I’ll supervise the vault construction myself for a day or two, just to make sure the foreman understands our requirements.” Dailen challenged, “You don’t trust me to handle that?” Cooper sighed, “I do, actually. But there are two buildings, no, three buildings where I’ll want to take a personal role. The vault, the library and the Arena.” Dailen turned to face him fully, “Arena? This is the first I’ve ever heard of an Arena.” Cooper shrugged, “It wasn’t, and still isn’t, a priority. Neither is the library, but we’re going to build them at some point; and when we do, you can bet that I’ll help design them.”

The work crews were happy to have something new to work on, until they realized that much of the vault project appeared to be excavation. No one looked forward to climbing down in the hole, and shuffling and slipping in mud deeper than their ankles. Furthermore, the rain and mud made the stones much harder to work with. The foreman initially balked at raising the blocks out of the hole, stating that it would require a series of scaffolds. Cooper explained that he wanted the larger stone blocks arranged to form a staircase leading down, and the smaller blocks could be set aside to be brought up once the stairs were built. Once those instructions were given, Cooper changed into his ‘worker’ clothes and shifted rock alongside the laborers. At first this caused a great deal of amusement but once the workers saw that Cooper was not only serious about working with them, he was also working as hard as they were, the laughter stopped.

The evening of the second day, as Cooper was stretching out his sore muscles, Birt and Mister Ysel approached and sat beside him. Mister Ysel spoke first, “We have the Charter and I have been carving out the stamp to create the seal to match it. Once that’s done, the deeds should pass scrutiny by anyone, except maybe the Prince himself.” Cooper wondered, “Why not the Prince?” Mister Ysel squinted, “Because a person tends to recognize their own signature. Still, even he might not realize that it isn’t his.” Cooper nodded, accepting the fair appraisal. Mister Ysel took the conversation to a different topic, “Birt and I have put together a few example lease agreements for potential merchants who wish to open shops in our new neighborhood. I think we all agree that it is not in our interests to actually sell any of the property, with one possible exception.” He paused and Cooper asked, “And that exception?” Birt chimed in, “Residential property. If someone wishes to build a house or estate, I think we should sell the property. Then they may do as they like with it. They’ll sign a contract that the property will not be used for commercial purposes and a violation will result in the property reverting to us as is.” Cooper nodded, “That makes sense.” He looked at the two of them, “If you’re bringing these examples to me, are you expecting me to voice an opinion? Give my approval? Or what?” Mister Ysel smiled, “I have experience with contracts, well, the loopholes to be found within them, to be more precise. But we thought you might provide a skeptic’s view on the matter. We’d like you to review the proposals. We’ve examined them from both our perspective and that of the client. We’d like you to do the same, if you have time.” Cooper sighed, “I suppose you have examples readily on hand?” Birt thrust a hand forward. He was holding a small sheaf of papers. Cooper nodded, “I’ll look at them now while I still have day light.” The other two men left him to his task.

As he studied each entry he noticed the two options presented distinct differences but, as discussed, neither offered options to actually purchase the land. Cooper assumed that would require a completely separate contract. He wondered whether he’d be called upon to review that example as well.

The first option was